We agreed to be in a band for life, what the heck is Dragon Raja?

The two walked along the street like that.

The location of Live House RiNG was not far from the tram stop, and the two walked towards the stop as usual.

…………

…………

the other side,

The old riverside gardens and villas of the capital city stand tall.

Toyokawa Shoko has returned home.

She left in a hurry after rehearsal today, just so she could hurry home and compose music for the lyrics written by Gao Songdeng.

"The notebook... is here."

She took out the notebook that Takamatsu had given her from her handbag; several pages of it contained the lyrics to "Spring Shadows."

"Hmm... let's look at the lyrics again first..."

Toyokawa Shoko thought to himself.

She found some blank paper in the study, and then brought over a few pens.

Just as she was about to sketch out the general melody, she suddenly realized that she had forgotten which page the lyrics were on, so she turned the pages one by one.

Besides the lyrics to "Spring Shadows" written by Takamatsu, the notebook also contained many other notes on my thoughts and feelings.

However, the text is fragmented, each section is not very long, most of them are only one sentence, and the context does not seem coherent.

"'I want to be human...'"

"I didn't expect that Deng had also written down the lyrics of this song in this notebook."

"Could it be that the initial draft was made on this?"

Toyokawa Shoko thought to herself as she flipped through the pages.

The first time she really wanted to meet Gao Songdeng was because of the 'lyrics' on her rhinoceros beetle notebook.

There were many beautifully written lines in the book, but the one that impressed her the most was the line, "I wish I could become human."

Shoko Toyokawa recalled that at home at the time, she even improvised and composed a melody for the song, which she then sang in front of Ugetsu Nagumo and Akari Takamatsu.

Then, she invited Deng to join the band.

"We must compose a piece of music that matches the lyrics of 'Spring Day Shadow'."

Shoko Toyokawa recalled what she had said to the band members at the Yuzawa Cafe, and secretly cheered herself up.

My gaze remained fixed on the laptop.

The handwriting on the paper is varied and complex; some strokes are written carefully and meticulously, while others are written in a flamboyant and hurried manner.

It's clear that the notebook's owner isn't someone who writes a lot at once, but rather jots down a few lines whenever their mood fluctuates.

Toyokawa Shoko looked intently. She had originally intended to find the lyrics to Kasuga Kage's song, but she unexpectedly became engrossed in Takamatsu Akari's 'diary' first.

Although the text above was somewhat rambling, Toyokawa Shoko did not find it particularly difficult to understand.

To avoid becoming detached from the world.

Don't forget...

He is...

For some reason, every time she sees Gao Songdeng's lyrics, she always feels something different.

Sometimes it's a resonance, sometimes a faint sadness, and sometimes it seems like reminiscing about something.

"Deng is truly a lyric-writing genius..."

Toyokawa Shoko thought to himself.

A top-notch lyricist is one whose lyrics can touch the deepest, most tender parts of the listener's heart.

In her mind, Takamatsu had already touched upon this field.

Shoko Toyokawa's slender fingers slowly turned the pages, revealing the 'lyrics' one by one.

She stared intently at every word, her mind drifting away.

"This page contains the lyrics to 'Spring Shadow'."

Toyokawa Shoko read for a while, then turned a few more pages.

The title, "Spring Shadows," is written in the top horizontal bar of this page.

[My heart is filled with haggardness, and my eyes are wandering]

I am alone in this world

[In this fading spring]

【Every year I feel only coldness】

"It's so beautiful..."

Although she had already read the lyrics to "Spring Shadows" once, she still felt the same excitement when she read them again.

"As for the melody..."

Toyokawa Shoko pondered.

Since Gao Songdeng's lyrics are already excellent, the melody should naturally match the imagery and rhythm of the lyrics.

Moreover, the band includes an electronic keyboard, drum kit, guitar, and bass, and the instruments must be matched to the members' playing style.

"let me see."

Toyokawa Shoko looked at the lyrics in her notebook, feeling them over and over again.

Actually, when she first saw the lyrics, a melody had already popped into her head.

Now, this melody lingers in her mind again, but she wants to grasp this feeling further and transcend its meaning.

wow——

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

In my mind, it was as if music was playing.

For some reason, Toyokawa Shoko suddenly felt a little sad.

This sadness was unlike anything I'd experienced before; it was as if someone had opened a door in the temple of consciousness. This door was no different in structure from the basement of my house, but at its deepest point lay a shadowy, gloomy object, obscuring everything clearly.

Toyokawa Shoko had no idea what was going on with her or what she was resonating with. She just felt as if she was being drawn in and was completely absorbed in this state.

Time passed second by second in the outside world.

But she felt as if time and space had lost their meaning, as if they were made of countless threads. She passed through these threads and seemed to see a figure crying at the end of time and space.

What's this……

Toyokawa Shoko was somewhat puzzled.

When she first saw the lyrics of Haruhi Kageyoku, she inexplicably felt that something within her consciousness seemed to be deeply saddened.

Could it be... this figure?

Toyokawa Shoko couldn't see its appearance clearly. Sometimes it looked like a human at first glance, but then she felt like it was some other unknown creature.

Sadness washed over me again.

In an instant, something seemed to pierce through her mind, and memories she didn't know had started flashing before her eyes:

It was a stormy night. In the cold hospital, a mother lay on her hospital bed, holding a newborn baby.

"This is……"

"--I?"

Toyokawa Shoko murmured.

"That's...my mother?"

She tried desperately to concentrate, trying to see the scene in her 'field of vision' clearly.

The woman on the hospital bed had a gentle appearance, but for some reason, she suddenly burst into tears while holding her newborn daughter.

She cried so sorrowfully, as if she wanted to turn all her sadness into tears.

I don't know how much time passed before her crying finally stopped.

Then, she bent down and gently pressed her cheek against the newborn baby's.

boom!

In that very instant,

The scene before my eyes was like a shattered mirror, exploding in the middle with a bang, and all sorts of scenes receded like a shuttle.

Toyokawa Shoko felt as if she had been swept away by something.

But she couldn't break free or escape.

Finally, the scene deep in my memory shattered completely, and what resurfaced before my eyes was still the text on the notebook.

The memory ends here.

"what."

Toyokawa Shoko let out a soft cry.

She suddenly felt a headache, a reaction caused by excessive concentration.

Trying to clearly see that scene deep in her memory had taken up a lot of her attention, even more than thinking for a long time, which is why she had a headache when she woke up.

"I……"

Toyokawa Shoko held her head.

"What's wrong with me."

She suddenly felt a sense of panic.

She had never experienced anything like this before. Why would images of her birth suddenly appear in her memory? Toyokawa Shoko couldn't figure out the reason no matter how much she thought about it.

Isn't it said that babies only have more distinct memories around the age of three? But why is the scene of his mother holding him and crying in the hospital so clear?

She lowered her head in a panic, her gaze returning to Takamatsu Takayuki's notebook.

next moment,

Toyokawa Shoko remained stunned for a long time.

A blank sheet of paper is laid out on top, and a drawing is made on it with a pencil.

The white paper and pencil were prepared beforehand, even before she looked at the lyrics; they were originally blank.

But now, it has been filled with a painting.

It was a long staircase that seemed to have no end, winding its way from the deepest abyss to the clouds.

And this long staircase encircles a towering ancient tree.

Ancient trees accompany the long staircase, stretching all the way to the depths of the clouds where they cannot be seen.

On the long steps, two figures could be vaguely seen.

It seemed to be a boy who reached out a hand to a girl. The girl also reached out her hand, her gaze fixed on the top of the long steps and the ancient tree, remaining motionless for a long time.

Toyokawa Shoko had no recollection of when she drew this picture.

The painting is exquisite, with clear details. It would be impossible to create such a work without extensive practice.

Although Shoko Toyokawa had taken art classes such as sketching for a period of time, it was nothing compared to her piano skills.

She also has some drawings from her regular art classes, but they are nowhere near as good as this one done in pencil.

It was as if, during that brief moment of her dazed state, someone had stolen control of her body and painted this picture.

"what on earth is it?"

Toyokawa Shoko reached out and picked up the blank sheet of paper. The back was empty, with only the pencil marks on the front imprinted on it, vaguely showing some outline.

I……